Nights of Persuasion
by Lost But Found
Summary: A young girl is cursed from birth for a reason that is not her own. She grows up in the midst of Santa Carla and when she has finally given up on her father, she finds peace with an unlikely friend. Even then, her world threatens to turn upside down.
1. Prelude of Life

**Ok, so I know that this is short, but its supposed to be. This is my first fan fiction and I have chosen The Lost Boys to base it on. I do not own them, because if I did, I sure as hell wouldn't be writing about them to get my fantasies out. I only own Jade/Raya, and some of the plot lines. Please review, I want to know if I am doing the Boys any justice. Enjoy.**

**Prelude of Life**

Santa Carla has been said to be the most desolate, cheap, and dangerous place in the world. Nicknamed by its patrons as the "Murder Capital of the World," Santa Carla is the most free spirited, accepting, new age coastal town in the country. Spelling death to the cautious and freedom to those who seek it, Santa Carla has many faces, wearing a different one for each new age. Those who live in Santa Carla appreciate its true wealth and understand it the best. As a haven for runaways, the lost and broken, the forgotten and misused, Santa Carla was heaven. To the ordinary outsider with that unique outlook of disdain, Santa Carla was the breeding grounds for hell.

Those seeking adventure and life found it in the night life. The crystalline beaches drew surf nazis and models looking for fame. The unfortunate souls that were born in Santa Carla grew up with the trends but rarely understood the basis behind them.

The crowd appearance varied with the times. The early morning was quietest. That's when you saw the higher clientele. The country club stock owners, mothers with their children, maybe someone walking the new puppy. Around noon, the younger teens started to show. They started their days earlier, and ended at about midnight before any of the serious partying began. At the classic times of about 4:30 to 5, the real parties started. The older teens(mainly 16-19) and "young adults"(20-26) started to come and the hell began. The main appeal of Santa Carla resided in the boardwalk. Small rides graced the wooden planks, attracting the crowds. Small novelty shops and diners that scoffed at the idea of any item not bathed in grease sat on the unsteady surface of the night life.

No one normal lived in Santa Carla. Kids with spiked hair dyed vibrant colors, leather jackets, piercing's, and various studded articles of clothing walked the boardwalk and fit in. No one noticed if you were by yourself, they were too caught up in themselves. They didn't care about your past, only how you were at that moment. The future didn't matter because they were living in the present and every night was to be had as if it was the last they might ever see. Darkness brooded over Santa Carla, but no one cared. It was a runaways dream.

Santa Carla was so glorious that no one payed attention to the thousands of missing posters. You disappear in Santa Carla, and you've dropped off the face of the planet. Someone disappears, no one pays attention and your parents will only weep for a short moment before moving on with the life that Santa Carla demanded.

Several gangs colored Santa Carla, the toughest of which everyone feared and longed to be a part of. Four boys, none older that 20 and the youngest of which looked about 17. They were the subject of every girls wet dreams and all the guys wanted to join them to prove that they were good enough for them. The epitome of Santa Carla, The Lost Boys reigned happily and rightfully, harvesting a dark secret that only made them all the more desirable.

"Welcome to Santa Carla. You'll leave if you lucky." David whispered in her ear years before she was of any consequence. Sending chills down her spine, David's voice tickled her ear as he spoke, breath on her neck Not from fear but from excitement the girls body shook slightly, only adding more to the pleasure David would receive from this. The wind howled, bringing a spray from the ocean to the edge of the boardwalk. A small gasp left her mouth as the spray hit her face. David smiled, feeling her shiver in his grasp. "Your life is meaningless, and no one cares for you. No one will hear your screams here." A voice rang out in the girls head as she smiled viciously. She knew what was coming and she was ready for it, wanted it even. No one heard her screams as David predicted. But no one heard his either.

**Ok, so that was just kind of a prologue, sort of an intro into the actual story. Tell me how you liked it!**

**-Bloody Nightmares**

**An immortal life would become a burden when those you love die.**


	2. Revelations of Danger

**I had to bump up the rating, and I think you'll see why. This chapter is quite a bit longer than the last, and I think that's good. Raya, my character, is mine and she's the only thing that is, except some of the storyline. If The Lost Boys were mine, I would be playing with them instead of writing about them. I hope you all like this chapter as well as the first!**

**Revelations of Danger**

"Fuck you!" Raya screamed, running for the door. At 18, she had already seen as much as a World War 2 veteran. Her father stumbled after her, slurring empty threats along the way.

"Get the fucking hell away from me, you drunken bastard!" Raya yelled, provoking him for the fun of it. The base of a ceramic lamp followed her screams, exploding next to her head. Even in the drunken state, Raya's father had incredible aim.

Already bruising and bleeding from the beginning of the brutal attack, Raya was trying to leave while she still had the ability to walk. Picking up a shard of the lamp, Raya threw it forcefully in her fathers direction, narrowly missing his glazed eyes. Taking advantage of the momentary lapse of flying furniture, Raya ran for the door. As she passed through the open door, a picture frame impaled her in the back, causing her to stumble. She caught a glimpse of the photo that had been previous weaponry before vaulting herself outside. It was the only picture of her mother her father hadn't burned in a drunken rage.

Raya ran until her legs gave out beneath her, sending her crashing to the ground. She stared at the ground in front of her, trying to slow down her heartbeat. Raya blinked furiously to get the tears out of her eyes. Raya was on all fours on the ground, afraid to stand up. The faint wind pained the multiple cuts on her back that had been gifted to her by the picture frame. The sound of tires on the asphalt chilled Raya's heart. Fear spread to the farthest parts of her mind, awakening the instinct to run away. Already the sound was closer, only heightening the demand to flee.

Standing up on pure willpower, Raya tried to run, but something in her mind told her that this wasn't something she should fear. After all, death probable wasn't as bad as her life had been so far. Gripping tightly to the fence beside her, Raya slowly stood up and turned her head. She was granted one moment of consciousness before fatigue attacked her brain, sending her crashing to the ground once more.

Raya lay on the ground, passed out. Marko watched from the back of his bike as she had collapsed. He hadn't yet seen the bruised and cuts that had caused the black out. Leaving his bike at an idle, Marko dismounted and walked over slowly, giving the impression that he was never in a hurry. He approached Raya, kneeling down to brush the hair away from her face.

"Holy shit, girl." Marko muttered. After uncovering Raya's face, his gaze was met with a long, bruised cut on her cheekbone, a bleeding lip, and a slightly bruised eye. Tearing his eyes away from her face, he noticed that the rest of her body was just as battered. Bleeding knuckles told him that the girl had fought back. Looking back at her face, ignoring the cuts, Marko realized she was quite pretty. Dark brown hair fell past her shoulders, bangs cut to cover half of her forehead and entire right eye, expertly styled to cover the bruise. Dark blue eyeliner made her eyes more dynamic. Her skin was pale as if she didn't like the sun much, but several light freckles covered her face. Clothes that hugged her every curve revealed her toned body. All over, the total effect was different, but impressive. Favoring tight jeans over the skirts that other girls wore, the seams followed her leg all the way down, ending tightly at her ankle. A long tee shirt edged along he top of the low cut pants, leaving you guessing at what lay underneath. Marko had seen her on the boardwalk only once before, in a large group where she wouldn't be noticed. Nothing about the girl said beauty freak, but just someone trying to stay alive.

Marko's bike shut off, startling him. He hadn't realized how long he had been looking at Raya. After glancing from his bike then back to the girl, he reached out a hand and touched her face. Her eyelids fluttered, but stayed closed. Marko gingerly leaned down even farther and carefully gathered Raya in his arms. Balancing her in front of him on his motorcycle, he drove carefully, for once, down to the boardwalk.

"Marko found a friend." Paul sang softly as he saw his friend drive up, girl in front of him. Several girls could not take off their eyes off the blonde, who was nonchalantly ignoring them.

"Shut up." Dwayne said. Paul had been annoying him all night, singing every damn thing he could think of, and against popular belief, his voice wasn't that great.

"Where's David?" Marko said as he carefully got off his bike, flipping the kickstand down absent-mindedly.

"Out." Paul said simply, crossing his arms in front of him and leaning against a railing behind him.

Raya shifted on the bike. Marko looked to see if she was becoming conscious. "Damn it," he muttered.

"How come she's not moving?" Paul asked, finally realizing the obvious. Without waiting for an answer, he walked over and lifted the bangs away from Raya's face. "Fuck man, did you do this?" Paul asked, suddenly alarmed at Raya's condition.

"No. I found her like that." Marko said, beginning to bite his nails.

"Well don't leave her on the bike you retard." Dwayne said, walking over to Raya, pulling Marko's hand away from his face along the way.

Paul was standing at the front of the bike, straddling the wheel, one arm on the handle bars, the other holding up Raya. He was to intrigued with the girl to help Dwayne lift her off the bike.

The boardwalk was filled with people, and somehow David had managed to thread his way through, back to the other boys. Laddie was trailing him, one hand latched onto David's coat, lacking the familiarity to hold his hand. Paul say David and Laddie first and laughed softly. Marko was already fidgeting.

"Who found the girl?" David asked, looking down at the limp form at Marko's feet.

"I did." Marko said boldly, "I was riding my bike and the girl collapsed at the side of the road. Check out her face." Marko said, reaching down to once again move the hair away from Raya's face as Paul muttered something to Dwayne, making him smile.

"Jesus." David muttered.

"Her back is whacked too." Dwayne said.

"And her knuckles are bloody." Marko added.

"But her face is gorgeous." Paul reminded. No one disagreed, even Laddie couldn't suppress a small smile. "What do we do with her?"

Everyone looked at David, waiting for an answer. Even the people passing by looked at David. No one could ignore The Lost Boys. More importantly, no one wanted to ignore The Lost Boys.

"You got her all right?" Paul asked Marko, who once again had Raya in front of him on the motorcycle. Marko just nodded.

Riding a straight path, the boys forced people to move for them. Marko was forced to take a more reckless pace than before. Balancing Raya and maintaining control of the motorcycle proved to be harder than it looked.

Paul kept glancing back at Marko, who had fallen considerably farther behind from when they had started. Paul faced forward again, and right as he did, Marko stopped his bike as the others rode on without him, noticing nothing.

Raya slowly blinked, green eyes adjusting slowly. All that Raya was aware of was that she was not where she had first collapsed, and her back hurt like hell.

"Hi." Marko said, leaning back to give Raya room to wake up.

Raya slowly looked at him, confusion clear on her face. Rubbing her head, Raya slowly looked around, unsure of her location. "Who are you?" She said, turning back to Marko.

"Your gallant savior." Marko said, smiling.

"A name would have been nice." Raya said.

"You first."

"Raya." She said after a moment of thought.

"Marko." He held out his hand, grinning again. Raya tentatively shook his hand. Marko pulled her forward and wrapped his arms around her in a hug, careful of the cuts lacing their way up Raya's back.

"Smooth." Raya commented after being released. Marko sat up and motioned for Raya to get off the bike. As she did, Marko eagerly started the motorcycle, and then smiled as the bike purred at an idle.

"Get on behind me." Marko called.

"I probably need to go back home." Raya said.

"Like hell you do. Just get on." Marko said, and after a moments indecision, Raya climbed onto the bike behind her savior. Her back stung as she wrapped her arms around Marko's waist. He looked back at Raya and grinned, lifting his eyebrows suggestively. Raya laughed as Marko sped off into the night.

Ten minutes had passed before the euphoria wore off. Raya loved motorcycles, they gave off the hint of recklessness and spontaneity, but also the scent of responsibility and dependance.

A thought came to Raya's mind that she couldn't ignore. Leaning even closer to Marko, she spoke, allowing her lips to tickle his ear, knowing fully well that it would put him on edge.

"Your not planning on raping me, right?" Raya asked, half joking and half wondering how he would respond.

Without missing a beat, Marko replied, "No, but I think I should be asking you the same question." Raya smiled and snaked one arm up his back, around his shoulder, across his chest, and latched on to his other shoulder. Holding even tighter to Marko than before, she shot down his question. "I never have to fore anyone." She claimed. Marko didn't doubt her.

"Classy." Raya said when Marko stopped his bike on a cliff side near several 'Danger' signs.

"Better than wherever you got those cuts and bruises." Marko said simply and truthfully.

"Are you always so conscientious of other people's pasts'?" Raya asked, gingerly climbing off the bike so she didn't disturb her back even more.

"Not usually. Your just special." Marko said, leading her into the concealed entrance of the cave.

"So I've heard." Raya replied sarcastically. Marko smiled and proffered a hand to assist her in the rocky decent. Raya gladly took his hand, hoping it would prevent her from further injuring herself.

The duo reached the main cave and Marko looked at her face expectantly. Usually people were shocked and amazed at what they saw. Raya, however, was a different case entirely.

"You little bastard. You did bring me to a hotel." Raya said jokingly. Marko smiled and helped her down the last few steps.

"About time." Paul called from a couch in the middle of the floor.

"Hey, at least she's conscious now." Marko replied. Paul got up and walked over, blonde hair bouncing and bracelets jingling softly.

"Hi." Paul said happily, looking at Raya.

"Hi." Raya said, stepping closer. "I'm Raya."

"Paul." He held out a hand. Raya took it and was pulled into a hug, again.

"How original." She said sarcastically. Marko snickered and Paul looked slightly confused.

"Are you actually going to come in, or just stand at the stairs?" Another voice called out that Raya vaguely recognized, true memories of it locked away in the darker corners of her mind.

"I was debating." Raya said, not bothering to look for the embodiment of the voice, she didn't need to. Paul moved to the side, and ten feet in front of her was the man who had been the unknowing cause of her abuse. Raya didn't know David had been the boy her mother cheated on her husband with. But Raya's father knew about his wife's infidelity with the rebel and saw fit to punish Raya for her mother's mistakes.

"You don't need to be afraid of us. Come in." David said as Paul and Marko snickered. Dwayne sat in a corner with Laddie, watching the scene with muted expression.

Raya glanced at Marko, then Paul, still unsure of what to do. Marko smiled and pushed her forward slightly, careful of the cuts on her back. She stepped forward, bringing her closer to the man standing before her. Raya kept going, smiling at David as she passed him on her way to the couch. If they were planning on testing her, she was going to test them as well.

Raya chose her seat carefully. About two feet away from one side of the couch, the boys could either get friendly or take the safe way out and sit on the other side entirely.

Paul laughed to himself and flung himself down next to Raya, in-between her and the armrest. Arm resting on the top edge of the couch, he was free to casually slide it down around Raya's shoulders when he chose to. Marko sat on the other side, but not quite as close as Paul. Raya smiled inwardly at her small victory.

"I'm David." Raya turned her head sharply to look at the only blonde left standing. He was obviously the leader, and it looked like no one was bothered with it. David looked like he had a hidden power that none of the other boys had, they were beneath him for a reason. David's cold blue eyes searched Raya's bright green ones for a sign of recognition. Neither realized their pasts were intertwined and they might never know.

"Raya." She said, speaking to the man who was at fault for all her misery and pain. The man who make her mother betray everyone linked with her. David had incredible power and he used it with astonishing ease. Several had been deceived and destroyed at the hands of the vampire. But Raya was different. The Lost Boys were her escape instead of her demise and she was already in their debt. Raya was attached without knowing it, and she already didn't want to let go.

**Okay, so that was the first chapter of the actual story. Please review, the Boys deserve greatness and I want to know if I am disgracing them. Hope you enjoyed it.**


	3. Encounter the Past

**Hey everyone, thanks for the reviews, they mean a lot, believe it or not!(hey, that rhymed) I'm not sure how I feel about this chapter, but for the most part it accomplished what I wanted it to. Please leave a review on this, I wouldn't mind suggestions on if I need to fix it or where you think the story should go, because honestly, I don't even know what's going to happen next. Without any further interruptions, here's chapter three.**

**Encounter the Past**

David had a feeling about Raya, but it he couldn't place it. It wasn't anything bad, or good, just something different. It had been nearly two weeks since Marko had found the rejected girl. Raya shared a friendship with Marko that none of the others had the power to establish. It may have been out of loyalty, or a feeling of being in debt to him, but whatever it was, it was completely unique to Marko. Raya rode with him almost always, sat next to him, and talked to him about covert things that not even the Boys enhanced senses could pick up on.

Paul's relationship with Raya was entirely different that Marko's. Paul made his advanced daily and constantly, but Raya didn't try to do anything to stop them. She certainly had the ability to through her bond with Marko, but David got the feeling that Raya didn't mind the attention she got from Paul. She would playfully respond, teasing him slightly, and she always left herself available for him.

Dwayne liked Raya, mostly because Laddie liked her so much. Dwayne could tell when Paul got to be too much for her, and he would call the blonde off, receiving gratitude in the form of a small smile that only Dwayne ever got from her.

David did nothing for or against Raya. He kept her around, as in living, because he did sense something about her that he knew vaguely. She reminded him of someone who had been gone from his life for almost 20 years. David gave the formalities that his leadership demanded of him, but nothing more than that. He remained passive, but also incredibly alert. He couldn't place his faint recognition of the girl, but neither could he clearly understand her vague familiarities. Raya respected David, she would joke around with him too, but she was more reserved around him, more wary of her actions and what she said, completely different from when she was around Marko, and, occasionally, Paul.

Raya knew she was too trusting, and the four boys were being very accepting. She had hear whispered stories about them, people too afraid to speak them aloud. The mystery and danger that followed the pack heightened their appeal and authority. Max may rule the Boys, but the Lost Boys reigned over Santa Carla.

Comfort was seeking into the cave, and surrounding it's occupants. Everyone was adapting to Raya and growing used to her presence. Hiding the Boys vampirism became an increasingly difficult task, and an idea that not all the Boys liked. Dwayne wanted to tell her point-blank, not mask anything. Paul and Marko wanted to tell her slowly, ease out every detail carefully, making sure that she understood. David was the one who held the most power, and he knew that what he wanted to do, they would do. But he was confused, for once in his long life. Raya's actions were reminiscent of the one person who had ever had a chance of controlling him, and for that reason, he wanted to protect her, but he also wanted to tell her the truth. David knew one thing for sure, he was determined to keep her in the dark until he found out why she was so familiar. He still couldn't place her in his past, but she became more and more familiar the longer she was around him.

Raya had only been awake for an hour, and the sun was about to set. She had been drifting in and out of consciousness for a large part of the day, unable to fully adjust to the Boys nocturnal habits. She figured that he would eventually switch over to a sleeping schedule that was similar to theirs, but for now, she was having trouble coping.

"You're awake." Marko mumbled, walking out of one of the many tunnels branching off the main cavern.

"Should I not be?" Raya queried, squinting her eyes to see Marko through the shadow he stood in.

"It's still early." He replied, slowly making his way over to the large bed Raya was laying on and dropping down onto it, waiting for the soft _thump_ that meant he had made contact with the mattress.

"It's almost eight o'clock. So not what you would normally consider early." Raya laughed.

"So what if my judgements a bit off. I'm not exactly what you'd call normal either." Marko said, burying his head underneath a pillow, trying desperately to fall back asleep. Trying desperately to slip back into the temporary peace that accompanied the black, thoughtless necessity.

"No one is normal in Santa Carla, or have you not noticed?" Raya asked, turning her head slightly so she could actually see Marko laying beside her.

Marko just grunted, the noise muffled by the pillow over his head. Raya smiled and threw a pillow at him, only to receive another grunt in return.

Suddenly, chaos came in the form of Paul. He felt the need to offer his assistance in fully waking up Marko by jumping onto the bed and landing full on Marko. As the two friends wrestled, eventually falling to the floor, Raya laughed as the blondes fought for the upper hand. The wrestling between the two had come to be familiar to Raya over the past few days. Depending on the circumstances, Raya and Dwayne had taken to betting on the outcome, with Dwayne usually victorious in his strong belief of Paul's raw power. Raya knew that while Paul had more strength that Marko, Marko was more cunning and fast in tight situations than Paul was. But Dwayne, being as smart as he was, realized that while wrestling, you didn't have time to be cunning and that was one of the places where Marko's quick wit wouldn't help him. Raya still held hope that there would one day be a situation where you hd to be quick to think up a solution in order to win.

"Hi Laddie." Raya said, sitting on the bed to better watch Marko and Paul fight each other. The little boy's eyes lit up as he hurried over to watch his two brothers attack each other with renewed vigor. Everyone got pleasure from watching Paul and Marko, they were just too damn entertaining. Dwayne and David were stirring in the cave that they slept in, unknown to everyone else. The Lost Boys were waking up, and Santa Carla citizens would soon suffer for it.

David smiled. The Boardwalk was filled with people, filled with potential victims. The deep chords emanating from the bass player up on the stage pulsed through the crowd, setting a universal heartbeat that everyone danced to, that everyone followed with surprising determination. His pack was behind him, and nearly everything was as it should be. The only thing David needed was to shake off the feeling about Raya. He knew that she could join them and probably make a good addition, but there was something about her that seemed familiar, almost too familiar. And until David found out more about Raya, he was determined to keep her in the dark.

The other boys knew that David wanted to talk to Raya alone. They could sense it, and slowly filtered off throughout their time at the Boardwalk, eventually giving David the space he desired.

David leaned against the railing, looking out at the ocean. Raya sat beside him, hitting the heel of her shoe against the metal bars in time to the music she could hear in the distance, unaware that her abandonment with David had been intentional. The silence stretched between them, David wanting Raya to speak first and Raya not knowing what to say.

The crowd thickened slightly, and the air seemed to evaporate. Raya could tell someone was disturbing the crowd, and someone who could piss off the Boardwalk population usually wasn't good. Without even realizing it, Raya tensed and moved herself closer to David. David, on the other hand, was very aware of what was going on around him, he could almost smell the tension in the air, the small amount of fear radiating off of Raya's usually tough exterior. David silently rejoiced in the fact that Raya was nervous, it would be much easier for him to extract information from her.

A man that had clearly broken sober hours ago stumbled out of the crowd, eyes glazed and form unimposing. The ever-moving crowd jostled him continuously, almost sending him to the ground several times, but never succeeding. Raya drew her breath in sharply when the man turned his face in her direction. Standing before her was the man who had put her through pain and misery her entire life, the person who was supposed to take care of her and raise her but had failed fantastically. Right in front of her was the man she had been trying to stay away from for the entire time she had spent with the Boys. But her father had found her without even trying, and Raya had no obvious means of escape this time.

David turned just in time to see Raya freeze up, staring straight ahead. One glance at Raya's terrified look and the drunk man standing in front of her told him all he needed to know. Grabbing Raya's upper arm, he growled into her ear, forcing her to look at him.

"Follow me." David stalked off in the direction of the crowd, determined to lose the man, Raya trailing behind like an obedient puppy that had lost its owner.

David underestimated Raya's father though. Having to pull Raya after him, David wove through the crowd with incredible ease, but he never seemed to be able to get away from the drunk who was blindly stumbling after them. Where ever he went, the drunk was always twenty steps behind.

Raya's father was yelling, but his calls fell on deaf ears, everyone else too wrapped up in themselves to care about anyone else.

"That's my daughter!" Raya's father screamed at David's back, surprisingly alert for being so drunk.

David never once looked back as he walked away, but he could sense Raya's father's presence. Turning sharply, David led Raya down onto the beach. Ducking into a small alcove that had been carved out of the beach wall, they waited for Raya's father to come.

"Come out Raya. Come out and play!" Her father called maliciously, throwing the empty vodka bottle in his hand at a nearby rock, sending shattered glass into the sand that so many walked barefoot on.

"You'll never escape me. You won't betray me like your worthless mother did." He called again, waiting for Raya to come to him.

"You're marked, you stupid girl! You're mine!" He screamed, losing the composure he had before.

David could feel Raya start to shake. He had never seen the girl so afraid of someone, she was usually very tough, very determined, making conversation with perfect strangers about whatever was on her mind at the moment. But this was new to David. He was stuck, trapped, whatever word you think fits.

David had no way of easily getting rid of Raya's father. He couldn't kill him because that would reveal him to Raya, which he didn't want, and he couldn't just stay here forever, that was unlike him, very weak.

"That lovely little tattoo on your back is permanent darling. You'll never get rid of it, just like you'll always be stuck with me!" Raya's father was yelling out Raya's past, telling the events she had once hoped to erase from her mind. Now, that seemed an impossible task.

"Don't make me wait, goddamn it!" he screamed, kicking at the sand, only resulting in his own pain as the small grains of sand embedded themselves in his eyes. David couldn't hide his smirk of satisfaction as the man had a moment of pain.

Raya closed her eyes and turned her head away, unable to hide the tears from god knows what. She heard the wind pick up, and then a small scream in the middle of the suddenly brutal wind. The unexplained storm died down and Raya turned back around slowly, afraid to see where her father was. Her fear was for nothing, her father was gone and David's face held an almost proud smirk.

"Where did he go?" Raya asked, looking up at David. "Did he leave?"

"He won't be bothering you again." David replied, looking down at Raya, a look of knowing in his bright blue eyes.

"Come on." David said, walking back down the beach without a further explanation. Raya followed, as he knew she would. She had become dependant on the protection that the Boys offered. She like the looks of jealousy that she got from other girls when she was with the Boys. The Boardwalk groupies were quick to place you in a category depending on who you hung out with. In the short time since Raya had been rescued by Marko, she had become a completely different person. Raya was suddenly envied, admired, wanted, and untouchable all at once. Her old friends were afraid to talk to her, the girls too afraid to come into such close contact with the gorgeous being that were now always with her, and the guys scared of what might happen if they made a pass at her while she was with the Boys. Even though The Lost Boys were surrounded by rumors and a perpetual cloud of mystery, there was something about them that you couldn't help but want to discover, to understand.

Marko, Paul, Dwayne, and Laddie were strewn across the bench on the carousel. Several girls looked longingly at the group, eyeing the small amount of space that they would just fit in between Paul and Dwayne. David and Raya approached, threading their way through the line with ease, the security guard that had given them trouble before long gone. Raya noticed the girls gaze on the gap of bench and smiled to herself. Hopping up onto the platform near the four, she walked over and casually slid into the space, sending several girls away with disappointed and angry looks etched into their features.

Raya laughed, subconsciously looking for David. He was gone, and she hadn't even noticed him leave.

"David disappeared again." Raya stated. The other Boys knew where he had gone, but Raya wasn't supposed to know. Marko and Paul continued their conversation about a new band, and Dwayne resumed his silent observation of the crowd of misfits and punks.

"Well you're entertaining." Raya said, growing restless of just sitting there. "Fine, I'm going to look for more lingerie." Standing up and jumping off the platform, Raya heard two more land behind her. Marko came up next to her, smiling innocently. Paul was on the other side, arm draped around Raya's shoulders.

"We are here to offer our professional opinion on which looks best on you." Paul said, blowing the smoke from his cigarette in spirals, hitting every person who walked by with a cloud of smoke.

"You're 'professional' opinion?" Raya said, looking at Marko, eyebrows raised.

"We've had a bit of experience in that category." Marko replied, smiling again.

"I bet." Raya said, smiling sweetly at a group of preppy teenagers off to the side, noticing the look of jealousy with satisfaction. The message that the Lost Boys sent out was precisely 'you'll never be good enough to join, the only thing you're good for is for a bit of fun'. And that was exactly why so many people desired them. To prove that they were top quality, that they were better than everybody else. But you didn't choose the Lost boys, they chose you. And the few that had been inducted into the infamous group still weren't sure if joining was worth the life it entailed.


	4. Tales of Lives Past, Pt 1

**Okay, so I'm really proud of myself that I got this done quicker than I usually do. It only took me a week to write, and it's my longest chapter yet. Still not completely happy with this, but it's doing what it was intended to do. So for all of you who were wondering when all the loose ends were going to be explained(if that makes any sense) this is your chapter. I actually got the idea from a review I got, and I can't remember which one right now...**

**Tales of Lives Past Pt. 1**

"Why do you accept me so much?" Raya asked, wincing in slight pain.

"We like to confuse people." Marko said in an offhand manner. He was concentrating on removing the bandages from Raya's back. After three weeks, the wounds had finally healed over, leaving only new flesh and small, tiny scars that would fade with time.

"Why do you really though? I mean, from what I've heard, you're all supposed to be a big set of bastards." Raya slowly twisted her back, carefully, almost afraid, to make sure the pain was totally gone before anything extreme came along.

"Hey, your backs all right!" Paul cried, bouncing over to where Marko had her on the couch. Paul's blonde hair bouncing, bracelets flashing in the feeble light, a wicked grin set on his youthful face, and his eyes, his beautiful crystal green eyes. All in all, he wasn't bad to look at, and no girl in Santa Carla was going to disagree.

Marko let out a heavy sigh as Paul came over. Saved again from answering the inevitable. Raya had a right to know, she had a right to know about them and what demons they truly were. Marko saw Raya smile at Paul as she slowly pulled her shirt back on, but her eyes kept flickering over to Marko. She knew there was something he wasn't telling her, probably several things, but she would find out what it was soon enough.

Dwayne looked over at the Packs newest project. Raya was really still with them for one reason, one she still didn't know. Marko's bond with her had deepened even more, almost like they were related. Paul and her grew closer as time progressed, and Dwayne was happy for him. It was damn near time he got someone. Dwayne smiled lightly at Raya being healed. She was sore the last few days as the skin stretched to allow a regular range of movement, and the agony was finally over.

David was still more skeptical of the girl, watching her even more intently, studying her actions to try to discover the reason behind the small connection he felt with her. The small things she did definitely became more familiar, but also more normal, more like it was her instead of resembling anyone else.

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All six occupants were sitting in the cave happily, contentedly. Paul was sitting on the fountain, tapping out the beat to the latest hit song. Marko was tuning up his bike, several extra parts laying around him. Dwayne was in a chair reading, silent as usual. Raya was curled up on the couch, an arm resting on the armrest, body leaned up against the side. Laddie was sitting cross legged on the couch with Raya, fiddling with the frayed bottom of her jeans. And David was in his own chair, a wheelchair of all things, off a little to the side. He could see everyone, smell their fears and taste their thoughts. The pack was happy, his pack was happy. Knowing that he was about to disrupt eh balance that had just settled down again, David rose from the chair. Dwayne stopped reading, set the book down and looked expectantly at David. Marko fitted the last part on his bike and ran a hand through his hair, also rising to his feet to watch David. Paul did rise, but the song tune never completely left his head, he was still humming softly. Laddie glanced up and quietly went over to Dwayne, his little hand gripping the leather sleeve, his eyes wide. The Lost Boys were getting ready, and they shared the last moment of peace that they might have for a while due to what was about to happen.

"Let's go, boys." David called. He barely had to raise his voice for it to send echoes throughout the cave. A low, throaty laugh followed the immediate movement that the command had caused, almost a growl, almost a purr. The cold blue eyes stayed void of any real emotion, but a maniac glint always kept them bright, unwavering in their intensity.

The boys climbed easily up to their bikes, but Raya was still unbalanced by a few stones, stumbling her way into the night was not the greatest thing.

All four were already on the motorcycles, Laddie tucked safely behind Dwayne. The engine of David's bike hummed at a low frequency, almost drawing Raya to it. There was something about eh way he was sitting on it that she had never noticed before. Something about the low hum resonating in her chest, combined with the image of the black trench coat and ice blue eyes called Raya to David. For the first time every, Raya walked past Marko and Paul. She climbed on behind David, wrapping her arms around him tightly. She thought it was just coincidence that David looked so appealing tonight, but David was in fact already cracking into her mind set, breaking down the walls that she didn't even know she had. There was just something about David that was, quite frankly, irresistible.

It was a whole other animal. It was fast, calculated ans spontaneous at the same time. David didn't take the small, barely noticeable measures that Marko took to insure Raya felt safe. David didn't lean into a turn slightly earlier to warn her to go that way too. He turned, as quickly and as sharply as he wanted, not caring if Raya felt secure or not. It was all about the pleasure of the ride, if someone felt insecure with David, he'd pull over and drop you off right then and there, no matter where it was or what it was like. The thrill that had slowly left the bikes returned, burning dangerously to boiling point.

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The boardwalk was crowded, as to be expected. The beat form the rock concert could be heard from the beach all the way down to where the Boys parked their bikes, right in front of one of the only video stores in the city.

Raya still wanted to continue her conversation with Marko. She knew she would get the answer out of him somehow, it was only a matter of time. Paul picked up on the apprehension emanating from Raya's form, becoming aware of just how important the truth was to her.

"We'll be back." Paul whispered, sneaking up on Raya and squeezing her shoulder reassuringly before slipping of into the crowd with Dwayne, David, and Laddie.

"That seemed planned." Raya surmised, watching Paul's wild hair disappear into the crowd.

"No, but they do sense things a little different than most." Marko replied casually, walking at a leisurely pace, hands stuffed into the back pockets of his jeans.

"So, you never told me the real reason." Raya broke the silence, disregarding however comfortable it might have been.

"Real reason of what?"

Raya hit him on the arm, a satisfying _thump_ coming from the punch.

They were earning several strange looks from the nicer outdoor restaurant they were walking past. Raya only began laughing. "You know what."

"We all had the same experiences as you." The playful gleam that was ever-present had suddenly left Marko's eyes. He suddenly looked older and wiser than he had before. "We all grew up together, thinking we were alone in our misfortune, not telling anyone. David was the only one that really brought us through. He found us and we all became this big crazy-ass family. That's how it's been since then." Marko looked at Raya seriously, no hint of a smile on his features.

"So I'm a charity case." Raya said, almost disgusted with the thought.

"No...and yes. We all see a little bit of ourselves in you. We made one rule when we got together. You don't give up on your own kind." Marko looked drained and tired, and eerie glow cast upon him by the faded yellow street lamp.

"As nice as that sounds, I don't know if I can believe it." Raya looked out at the ocean, hiding the disappointment in her eyes from Marko. She had expected there to be more to the story, more substance as to why the group of bikers everyone knew was dangerous took in a girl one of them found on the side of the road. As unsatisfying as Marko's explanation was, it was probably the only one Raya would get.

"Sorry, but you asked, and I told." Marko called over his shoulder, quickly leaving Raya without her even knowing.

"Thanks for the attention to detail." Raya smirked, looking for Marko in the crowd and not finding anything.

Now that Raya was on her own, she got less attention, less fear. Whichever one of the boys she was with, she always got jealous stares and a wide berth when walking. She suddenly had to force and push her way through the crowd, dodging several couples too immersed in each others tongues to notice anything concerning the outside world.

"You should be a bit more grateful, you know." David had come out of nowhere, sliding up to Raya's side, one had on the small of her back to direct her through the throng of people.

"You should warn people before you sneak up on them" Raya said, reaching a small table at an outside burger restaurant. All surfaces were covered in some sort of grime, but his place was heaven compared to where she had eaten the night before.

"That would ruin the point of sneaking." David sat down across from Raya, no readable expression on his face and his eyes still as cold and emotionless as ever.

"What's your story?" David asked, a cigarette twirling between his pale fingers. David was so incredibly white, almost as if no blood ever brought any color to his face, as if it was afraid to give the boy any real color.

"You know my story. Do you not remember the second night where we all had a nice little intervention?" Raya replied coldly, almost becoming mad at David's lack of enthusiasm and emotion.

"I remember. I also remember you leaving several parts out. And until we know everything about you, how do you expect to know all about us?" David leaned forward, his eyes boring into Raya's, the cigarette laying forgotten on the plastic table, the smoldering tip slowly melting a small hole into the table, a small black ring encircling the outside.

Raya watched the cigarette smolder, imagining nothing else but being away from Santa Carla, from everything. Becoming frustrated under David's piercing gaze, Raya picked up the cigarette and inhaled sharply. Coughing violently, she dropped the cigarette to the floor, crushing it with her foot. Having extricated most of the smoke from her lungs, she looked up at David, meeting his cerulean gaze with the same burning intensity.

"If you want to know my story, it's equally fait that you share yours as well." Raya smiled, inwardly proud for putting out an answer that she thought David would be too vague to answer. He wouldn't get the truth from her without sharing something equally painful.

"You want my true story?" David asked, raising and eyebrow, deep voice reverberating through Raya's chest.

Nodding silently, Raya fought to hold David's gaze, trying to coax the truth out of his eyes.

"Fine. But first you must get all the other stories. Mine won't make sense without it." David smirked, stood up, and walked away, leaving Raya on her own once more.

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The tales that would follow wove horrific epics close to the storyline of 'Hannibal'. Take out the chainsaw, and you had Paul's story. His father beat him, his mother and sister, and tortured them repeatedly. Beneath the white pants and long coat and tails lay scars that Paul had earned at a young age. The worst part about it, was that Paul's father was a cop. The pain and suffering Paul went through made Raya's father seem like a normal person, but not quite.

Marko was more hesitant. His past wasn't as dark and twisted as Paul's, but it was tragic in it's own way. Marko witnessed his parents kill themselves, they overdosed one night when he was all but fourteen. He lived in L.A. at the time but was forced to leave his home when all other forms of family refused to take in the problem child that everyone believed had been at fault for the homicides. He lived on the streets for two years and eventually made his way down to the coast to Santa Carla on the motorcycle his father had left behind.

Laddie, poor, sweet Laddie. His father had forced drugs on his mother, waited until she passed out, and then raped her. His mother had been disgusted with the product of the own pain and was ashamed that he good Christian girl image she flaunted was shattered with his birth. She basically ignored him, giving him as little attention s she possibly could, hiding the existence of her child from all the population. He never went to school, and he barely knew anything of the outside world until the Boys had gotten hold of him.

Dwayne was the last, and his sad tale made absolutely every other frightening story ever created seem like nothing. People often wonder how it is that a parent, someone who is supposed to love and protect us can go against the stereotype so amazingly, so tragically. Dwayne spend the first ten years of his life in a basement, leaving only for school. His mothers favorite game to play was where she would have him drink a chemical acid and water solution. His vocal chords were severely damaged and hews not allowed to talk under any circumstances. Each night was a new torture, his mother never relented in her cruelty. He was given absolutely nothing to do, wear, or eat. After his tenth year in a basement, a school nurse called Child Protective Services, and he was given to a Native American family that had been in his mothers tribe. They gave him everything, almost re-raised him. He never really recovered, that's why he never really talked except to those select few who had gotten under his skin. His story was the hardest for Raya to get. Paul was easy, took only an hour to get him to crack. Marko was slightly harder, took an entire day but hat included Laddie's story as well. Dwayne took two days, almost three. She had to explain her reason over and over, and slowly get into his head. Consequently, Raya became closer to Dwayne faster than anyone had ever been able to. Raya earned respect that day, as well s the truth to the four boys pasts. Only David was left, and then the real reason for their acceptance of Raya would come out.

Nothing humanly possible was going to stop the truth from coming out. Her own tale seemed nothing compared to the talked of pain and catastrophe that she had just heard. The only thing that was the same besides all the pain they felt, was that David rescued them all. From what exactly, Raya didn't know. But all the gruesome details of their childhoods and then the fact that David came to the rescue made the leader seem a whole lot different that the eye perceived him to be.

David knew she had succeeded, that task he had set her was nothing compared to what he was about to put her through. If only David had been a bit less ruthless, the dark secret holding their fragile existence separate might have never been broken, forging their two lives together, if only David could learn to be a bit more forgiving, if he could learn not to follow orders so directly. Maybe if David could have done that, Raya wouldn't have been put through al the misery she too endured. Maybe she could have been normal, grown up with a mother, and grown up happy.

**So that's a little bit of an explanation chapter, and I know what I'm going to write for the next one, so look for that in about two or three weeks, but no promises. Reviews are always appreciated, so please leave one, it only takes a second.**


	5. Tales of Lives Past, Pt 2

**I'm happy with this chapter for the most part, maybe not the end, but for the most part. I think it's my favorite chapter so far, and most definitely the longest. So enjoy, and please review.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own The Lost Boys. I do however, own Raya. **

**Tales of Lives Past, Pt. 2**

Raya stood before David, looking at him. The flickering light of the fire cast eerie shadows on his face, making his skin look almost transparent. He didn't look at her, was just looking at one stop on the wall, never looking anywhere but at that one spot.

David started to speak, his voice monotone at the beginning. One minute into his tale, he spoke with so much emotion that Raya closed her eyes and images flooded into her head to accompany the words, playing in her mind like a movie, a documentary of how one boy was forced to grow up sooner than any person should.

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David had a life, and a family. He wasn't always the merciless killer that he is now. His family had been middle-class and they were basic, seemingly normal. But his father wasn't so basic. His father had gotten involved with the wrong people. He was in debt, in debt so deep that his grandchildren would feel the devastating effects. The only other price they would accept besides money was a death. A death that would last for an eternity and end immortal.

David's father was scared; all his brain had processed was one word: death. He had always feared death and the unknown. He gave them David. He gave up his only son, his firstborn, to settle a debt that was his to repay. He handed over his son to save his own skin.

David spoke with such hatred of his father that the long forgotten rage threatened to boil over. His voice held something else, too. David was still hurt by what his father had done, and it still faintly showed. David was still confused about his father. His tone shifted suddenly, almost instantaneously, as he spoke of the men who were now about to kill him.

The room David was sitting in was cold and bare, cement gray walls fusing together to form one large cell. A man walked into the room. He was powerful looking and his entire frame filled the doorway, only his face remained in shadow. David stood up from sitting on the floor, shoulders square and his face held high. He let no trace of fear escape onto his expression. He was scared out of his mind, but he wouldn't ever let them know it. The man stepped forward slowly, laughing slightly to himself. David took a step back. His blue eyes flickered and he stepped back to where he had been. He wouldn't give up ground. He couldn't show weakness.

The man smiled. His face twisted drastically, his features deformed. High cheekbones, sallow skin. Eyes that were once brown were now an inhuman yellow-gold, and his K-9 teeth had descended an inch, giving him thick, white fangs. The man was on David in a second, fangs plunged into David's neck. There was a faint echoing in David's mind, like someone was speaking to him. Whispering like ghosts in the snow. Soon David's body dropped to the floor, lifeless and cold.

The man knelt down, bringing his wrist up to his mouth and then lowered it over David's own, deep red blood dripping down the throat of the once alive boy. David's eyes opened slowly, only they were different. They were void of the innocence they had held, empty and emotionless. They were so different from how they had been moments before, when he had been alive.

Raya recognized the tone David used to the man and the whole situation, and it repulsed her slightly. It was respect.

David was dead. But he was only halfway to becoming immortal. He still had to kill.

The new life David had suited him. He wasn't cruel yet, and he didn't understand yet, but it was all there, underneath the human emotions that still lingered in his body. Except for his eyes. His eyes were already ice. David was already learning not to feel.

The murders were hard at first. David still didn't realize the full betrayal his father had dealt out. The wound was still fresh and bleeding, and he didn't feel the real pain yet. Not even the tip of it. David didn't like to think of himself as Dead. How could you when you were still walking around, seemingly lifelike? That's why they were still murders. That's why David still cared. That's why David didn't realize the full extent of the power this new found state of existence could give him. It had only been a week. That's why David was still changing.

Two months. That's all it had taken. Two months for David to forget everything, to forget everyone. Two months for David to understand what his father had actually done. David was only 17. It wasn't fair. But his fathers unscheduled death had helped to ease some of the pain. So had the power he now held.

David had been meant for vampirism. He may not have known it, but he was. At least, that's what he had convinced himself. He liked it because he was in power. Because he believed he was in control, that no one could hurt him. But David was still young, he was still learning.

David got strong, fast. He worked at it relentlessly, telling himself tat it wasn't because he needed the power to feel whole, but because he wanted to prove his worth. That's why he finally reached the level of authority in the pack that few got to.

He wasn't one that they had scouted, he was one they had been given out of fear. David was supposed to stay at the bottom. That's why the accomplishment fed his ego and led him to believe he was indestructible, lulling him into a false sense of security. That's why he didn't watch his actions when he met her. But that girl ended it all.

David thought he was free of human emotions. That's why she appealed to him. She had too many emotions, to many human qualities. He liked her because she made up for the feelings that he was lacking, even if he would never admit that as his true reason. That's why he didn't expect the second betrayal. One year, and he had already forgotten how he ended up the way he was, had forgotten that first wound that was just barely healed.

He couldn't deny it anymore. He was in too deep to get out. But he didn't want out. The feeling of belonging was a good one. He figured that even vampires deserved happiness. But one thing he hated was the feeling of weakness, helplessness, that he got when he was around her. But that's what kept him with her. It almost made him seem normal, human. David was in love. Or as close to it as he would ever allow himself to be.

She ripped his heart out. Figuratively of course. That feeling of helplessness, feeling of insecurity, killed him again. David had been in to deep.

She had him, he had her, it was all good. She knew what he was, and was okay with it. More than okay with it. She wanted it too. That's when everything went bad, all those months that led up to that one, single day, and it was the worst night of his life.

She had been acting strange all night. Had been for the last couple of weeks. Almost remorseful. David refused to let her emotions get in the way. He was going to turn her, no matter what. He had waited too long not to. Told her too much to still be able to get out of it.

He had led her into a small clearing far way from the city noise. You could still see the boardwalk from where they were, but you couldn't hear it. He had assured her no one would hear her. She was bound to scream. Dying wasn't supposed to be a quiet event.

David repeated the same phrases that he heard the night he had been turned. The rules of the Pack. But David made the phrases nicer. The first spoken softly, the next intoned into her head. She shook from excitement, all other thoughts pushed from her mind. His body focused on one thing., and his mind pushed all other thoughts from his head. None were important until the task was done and she was Dead.

The first bite hurt, David could feel her wince as he began to drain her body. He tried to lessen the pain, but he was too determined to think about it for long. David moved mechanically. His body was now following ritual. His mind was too busy celebrating that he had someone who wouldn't betray him.

She had passed out. David sat on the ground, watching her wake up. She smiled. David was impressed with how well Death suited her. Her light brown hair and clear green eyes shone in the moonlight. She had been beautiful in life, innocent. But now, there was something more. She stood up. David followed, allowing her to encircle her arms around his waist and bury her head in his chest. David didn't see the glimmer of regret in her eyes. But David was still learning.

David didn't hear the faint apology. He just felt the stake plunge into his back. All he could feel was the wood plunge into his skin, through all the clothes, all the muscle and tissue. All he could feel was the stake plant itself in between his ribs. David still had a lot to learn.

David hadn't died. The stake had missed his heart by three inches. But David wasn't a vampire, either. He began to age again. For three years while he healed, David looked normal. He got older. David was 21. Visually, he was 20. He had been that way for one month. He could start to prove his worth once more.

He had to start at the bottom again. He had to work himself back up to the rank he was at before her. David had finally learned. Be careful with your trust, and always know that you have control. Control is Law. You could live if you had control.

Almost four years. Four years to realize that no one was there to help him. He was completely alone in his pack, in his death. Then he saw the obituary for her. Murdered, no funeral, one child and a husband. She had moved on, able to forget. David didn't forget. Not again.

The pack that David belonged to was just that -- a pack. A snarling, vicious pack. They had no trust in each other, and each sought to rule. Without trust, they were nothing. They each wanted glory, and dealt out punishment without a second thought. Twisted events and backstabbing left only David. All the others were dead. Paul, Marko, and Dwayne were the continuation. They weren't a pack. They were a gang, a family. They would never become a pack.

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David paused. He looked at Raya. She was still standing in front of him. No movement or sound escaped her form. Her eyes were hazy and she looked like she was deep in thought.

"Are they still murders?" she asked.

"No."

"You sure did learn." Raya sat down, her hands underneath her legs, her posture still. Her voice was quiet, like she was unsure of the meaning behind everything.

"What was her name?"

"What?" David hadn't forgotten, but blocked it out as well as he could. He had avoided thinking about her for over 20 years. Now wasn't the time to start again.

"The girl."

He paused. "Justine."

Raya visibly stiffened. Her jaw line got harder and her face was set. "You're a vampire." It was a statement, not a question.

"We all are." Dwayne said softly. He and Marko stepped out from the shadows. Paul came from behind David. God only knows how long they had been there.

"We aren't going to hurt you." Marko stepped forward, pulling the bond he had with her, trying to manipulate it to get her to trust again. It was a big secret they had kept.

Raya stiffened. Now she knew why David hadn't been as willing, why he didn't trust easily, if at all. But it was deeper with her, and it was for a valid reason. She guessed she reminded him a bit of her. She should, at least.

"Couldn't we have hurt you already?" Marko asked urgently. He was eager to make sure she talked to him. He was sitting next to her, and David was staring at that spot on the wall again.

"We didn't. We won't. Ever." Marko pleaded, he needed her to believe him. She had to. She knew too much to be let go. She was in too deep.

_Liar._ David called through their blood bond. _We already have._

"You made a deal, Raya." David smirked. She glared at him. She had been thinking, who was he to be allowed to disrupt her thoughts? But he was right. He was always right, annoyingly so. Raya nodded and drew a shaky breath.

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Her mother had died when she was just two. Raya's mother had been weak. She was fragile, easily manipulated, and over emotional. Perfect for the control-freak father Raya had. He was the exact opposite of her mother in every way. Where she was weak, he was strong. Her mother was gentle, he was rough. Her mother cared, but wasn't overprotective, and her father was as strict and overbearing as he was possessive. That's why the affair had set him into a tangent that never ended.

Raya's mother had loved someone else. She had been devoted heart and soul, mind and body to this one person. Raya's father found out who it was and every single bit of information he could. Raya's mother was blind to see that the man she was married to was slowly going crazy, slowly becoming a dictator.

Somehow, he forced Raya's mother to kill the other man. She did, and was then never allowed past the front door again. She had become a prisoner in her own home, in her own life. Raya's father got a child out of her mother, and then once Raya was old enough to survive without her, she was no longer needed. He brutally murdered the woman who had betrayed him.

Raya now only had an abusive father who was consequently always drunk, and no mother. She could only vaguely remember what her mother had looked like. She couldn't help but wonder if she was like her at all. Her father had often told her that she looked like her mother.

Deprived of a mother, Raya grew up harshly, every night brought a new fear or a new bruise. Eventually Raya didn't bruise as easily, and she stopped being afraid of her father. It wasn't anything new, every night the same routine happened, and it got to the point where she could predict what would happen next. The only good thing he had given her were fast reflexes and a strong will. They young misunderstanding was soon replaced by a very real, very adult hatred.

The few times that Raya was allowed out of the house for anything besides school, she had made it worth it. The few moments of given freedom that she had she enjoyed. All the other times she just snuck out. She had a largish group of friends, but none of them close enough to her to know about her father.

As she got older, the fights and the liquor increased. The older she got, the more she physically resembled her mother, but the more headstrong she got.

Raya became angry. Angry at her father, the rest of the world for not helping her, herself for not standing up to her father when she was younger. She finally figured out that the more drunk her father was, the easier she could start fights with him, and the easier it was to land a right hook to his jaw.

She began to want to fight with him. It helped relieve bottled up anger and blow off excess steam. Soon Raya picked fights with her father, and she usually gave back a pretty good beating herself. She preferred to hit with skin, instead of abandoned objects that were lying around the house. It didn't always go that way.

There were times when Raya would spend weeks in bed nursing broken bones or concussions. Neither one of them would back down, one fueled by a past injustice and alcohol, the other by pure loathing, seething rage propelling her to destruction.

The one time Raya was put into the hospital, she stayed for a month and a half, courtesy of falling down the stairs and a flying table. If only the doctors had known what actually happened, instead of the lie that was fed to them by her father. Maybe everything would have been different.

But it hadn't, and she had the life she did. She was thankful for it in a way. If she had been a spoiled brat, she probably wouldn't have stood a chance in Santa Carla. You had to be tough to survive, you had to be able to withstand all kinds of situations that you could find yourself thrown into. You needed to be strong, but that wasn't always enough. Thanks to all the recurring fights, she could stand up for herself, and Raya could be fiercely independent when needed to be. She didn't have to rely on anyone, but it felt nice to have someone to care about her and look after her.

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That was all there was and all of the Boys knew it. Before, they could sense the mystery still around her, smell it almost. But now she smelled raw, clean, and tired. But it was there, underlying all the walls she had built up to try and suffocate her weaknesses. It had taken time to crack them, but now that it was all out in the open, none of them knew how much more she could stand to take.

Raya thought about how much her life had changed since the night she had been picked up off the side of the road by Marko. So much had happened in the four weeks she had been with them. She wasn't a stray any longer, she had a home. And it was almost like she had a family again.

"You had a hard life." Dwayne said quietly, stepping forward and sinking down onto the other side of the couch.

"Not anything like yours." Raya admitted. True, she did have a hard life. She used to think of herself as a tortured soul, someone misread and misunderstood by the whole world. She used to pity herself. Not anymore.

Hearing about all of their pasts had made her feel guilty. Her life was nothing compared to any of theirs. She was glad she hadn't had a life like any of theirs. She was glad she hadn't had a life like Paul's. It was hard enduring the beatings herself, but she was so thankful she had never had to witness her mother being beaten. Laddie had it rough, particularly because it had happened when he was so young. At least Raya's father hadn't ignored her completely. She could never imagine having to grow up with someone like Dwayne's birth mother. She had been beyond cruel. Raya didn't even know words to describe someone as horrible as that.

Out of them all, Marko's was the closest to her own. Only one parent had died, but the repercussions had been about the same. It felt like no one in the world wanted you, or even cared about the existence you had.

David had been the lucky one, she supposed. At least he had a family that cared before they betrayed him. His father had been cowardly, but at least he pretended like he cared. David had been the lucky one.

"What happened to my father, that night on the beach?" Raya asked, looking around the room.

Paul sheepishly raised a hand. "That one was me." He grinned a little, lopsided, but sincere.

Raya looked at him. He had killed her father. He was dead. She should have felt a little remorse, but she couldn't. She felt like laughing. She grinned widely at Paul, eyes sparkling. She threw herself at him, hugging his torso hard.

Raya smiled into his chest. He hadn't even staggered when she had launched herself at him. Maybe being a vampire had it's benefits. Paul laughed and swung her around.

"Never knew someone to take so much pleasure in a death." Marko said, watching them.

"Your forgetting David, man." Paul laughed again, setting Raya down.

"You never personally knew my father." Raya said. Whatever funk she had been in before was now replaced with joy.

"What did your father mean when he said you were marked?" David asked. At least he had a half-smile on his face.

"What?" Paul and Marko asked in unison.

Raya smirked a little and turned around so her back was to them. She pulled down the top of her shirt to reveal her left shoulder. A black tattoo lay there, intricately designed snakes wove in and out of a skull. The snakes had golden-yellow eyes.

"I probably would have liked it if it wasn't forced on me." Raya said, releasing her shirt and turning around to face the Boys again.

"Why did he do it?" Paul looked at Raya, unsure about wether or not to be awed or disgusted.

David answered for her. "To remind her that she was his, and he wasn't going to let her go. She wouldn't escape like her mother did."

Raya noticed how his face hardened when he mentioned her mother. She didn't blame him. He had all the reason in the world to hate her, Raya just hoped that this time her mothers mistakes wouldn't whip her instead.

"Did it hurt?" Marko asked, thinking about the one time he had tried to get a tattoo.

"I was only five. I was knocked out when they did it." Raya said, looking at Marko. "You don't have one?"

"Nope. The ink wasn't normal ink. I wanted a blood red sun, and to achieve the color, they had to use the real stuff." Marko smiled, looking at Paul.

"You should have seen the guy. Thought something was horribly wrong when it kept disappearing." Paul finished.

Raya smiled, and ended up yawning instead. It was almost four in the morning. It was going to get light soon.

"Bed, boys." David commanded, finally standing up. Dwayne and Laddie walked off. Marko smiled one last time, and headed down into the tunnels. Paul cackled and followed Marko, jumping on him before being swallowed by the shadows. They had all gone without a fuss. David had made sure of that.

Raya grew somber quickly. She knew David knew as well, or at least suspected something. It wasn't terribly hard to put two and two together.

"What was your mothers name?" David asked bluntly. Even without the trench coat, he still had on the leather jacket, and he didn't look any less intimidating. That was the thing about David that Raya admired the most. He had presence. He was never overlooked.

Raya opened her mouth, but couldn't find her voice. David stared her down with those piercing blue eyes. Nothing had ever been this hard to admit.

"Justine." She whispered. She looked at the floor intently, almost afraid to look at David. When she finally did look up, he was gone and Raya was alone again. She sighed, then fell down onto the bed, slipping into the darkness of her mind, once more free of her thoughts.

Dwayne walked back into the cave. He had been lurking in the shadows just off the side of the cave. David had a purpose in setting that task, but he didn't know why. He could sense the decisions that came in the next few days. They concerned Raya, and what was to happen to her. But id did him little good. He couldn't see how any of it turned out.

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**Please leave a review, let me know what you think.**


	6. Secrets Revealed

**So sorry for not updating in so long! I think it's somewhere around a month and a half since I last updated, actually. I kept trying to get it up, but I couldn't seem to just sit down and write it out. Took me a couple tries. This isn't my favorite chapter, my least favorite, I think. It just seems to me like it's lacking something. I don't know, tell me what you guys think, leave me a review!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own the Lost Boys or anything related to the franchise. I do, however, own Raya and her mother.**

**Secrets Revealed**

"What's next?" Marko asked. David, Dwayne, Paul and he were in the cavern they slept in. Two days since they heard everything, and David was still not acting like himself.

"We feed" David said with finality. If Dwayne's senses were right, they were going to need all the strength they could get. Something beyond his power was going to happen tonight, and he didn't like the feeling of no being in control. He had worked too long and too hard to get things the way he liked them. And then Raya came and disturbed that.

"What about Raya?" Paul looked at David, then motioning to the girl who was still asleep on the bed.

"Laddie will stay with her." David was anxious to get out into the night and do what he did best, and as a gang.Since Raya had come, the whole dynamic had changed. They hadn't hunted together for two weeks, and David felt like the bonds between his brothers were loosening slightly.

They were almost outside of the cave, and Marko glanced back. He knew he couldn't cross David tonight. For one, David was being harsh and that wasn't how he should be, not with them anyway. And second, there was something in the air. He could almost smell it, the thick, heavy, almost sweet scent in the air. Apprehension.

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Thick air surrounded the bonfire. At least ten people were there, celebrating. It didn't really matter what it was, it was an excuse to have a party, that's all that was important. All of them were drunk, some more than others, and a shadowed lump in the corner indicated that one had passed out or fallen asleep. One way or the other, he was dead to the world, and that was about to be made permanent.

Four hidden figures watched them, keen eyes following all movement, sensitive ears catching all conversation and still so much more. Sharp sense of smell picked up on all thoughts and fears, all the feelings thrown out in to the open, preying on their emotions, already starting to twist their thoughts with their powerful minds. They were going to have fun with this.

David looked at his gang, as it should be. Tonight would bring them back together and put them on a ridiculous high - the rush of fresh blood in their veins from feeding always did that.

Dwayne was poised, watching them all with hungry eyes, fighting to keep himself from slipping into fang.

Paul was crouched low on a rock, licking his lips, avoiding the razor sharp canines that he hadn't bothered to conceal.

Marko grinned from the tree branch he was hanging off of, he was even laughing softly to himself.

David alone stood still, hands shoved into the pockets of his trench coat. His face was undisturbed, but his eyes held a fire they rarely had. As he watched the celebrations, people dancing around and calling out to one another. He smiled.

A genuine smile. His boys were with him, the four of them unbeatable in strength and indestructible in unity. They were all waiting for his signal, and he couldn't wait to give it. David's smile grew to a laugh, and soon all of them were in true form, each elongated tooth waiting to bite down, each clawed hand stretching to tear flesh. Four sets of yellow-red eyes penetrated though the dark, taking in everything in sight.

David looked at each of them, the laughter gone from his face, a different expression taking control of his face. A wild look of desire and lust and thirst.

They all looked at him, waiting. The boys wanted to go to town, and the car was already at an idle.

But no, this wasn't going to be just another brutal, savage kill. This would take planning and skill, and tactful approach.

David nodded once. They all knew where to be, and they all knew what to do. Time to set the ball rolling.

Marko swung himself up higher into the tree, completely concealed and directly above one of the prey.

Paul took to the left, the firelight barely reflected in his eyes, they were already filled with hunger to let anything else in.

Dwayne took up position across from Marko, already picking out which were to die first, at least the ones he would be responsible for.

David slid into place on the right. They were all ready, and they all wanted to pounce.

"_Now." _David called, his voice, riding high on the wind, reaching the ears of his gang and setting everything into action.

Thanks to David's planning, none of the prey knew what hit them. Not even the people 300 yards away, only slightly down the beach, heard the shrieks and yells of the unfortunate souls.

And although the kills had been relished, none of the boys took special care to torture the prey. It's best to save the tricks for a kill of revenge, and to be able to pour all idea's and pain into those kills was what made them something special.

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All of them were smiling sadistically. Paul was tying material from his kills shirt to his wrist. It would stay there until there was a new one to replace it.

David wiped his mouth with the back of his hand, looked at his gang, freshly reunited, and walked up the beach toward their bikes. Now it was time to take care of business.

"Marko," David called, waiting to continue until Marko was at his side. "Go back and get Raya. We might need her soon."

Marko nodded, then silently made his way up the beach ahead of the others. The euphoria the blood gave him was strong, still present in his mind, and he wasn't sure he trusted his voice.

"What about Laddie?" Dwayne asked, coming up to David. His dark eyes had turned back from the yellow-red, but they still held a certain wild look that usually wasn't there.

David just looked at him and nodded. Dwayne, taking this to mean that he was to go with Marko and get Laddie, caught up with Marko, and th two of them went to retrieve the two from their group that were missing.

Paul and David stayed a the boardwalk. They were both leaned up against the railing to the carousel, enjoying being in the center of the action. Paul was eying practically every girl that walked by with lust heavy on his face.

David say Paul's reaction to a particularly curvy redhead that walked by. David smirked at him and nudged his shoulder, giving him the unneeded permission to go after her. David could use the time alone to his advantage anyway.

Weaving in and out through the crowd wasn't hard for David. Most people recognized him and they did one fo two things, gravitated towards him or backed off because they were scared out of their minds.

The familiar neon signs greeted him as he slipped into the store. He knew he wasn't "Allowed" in the store, but he had an issue that needed addressed, and it was one that might not be as much of a secret s he thought it to be.

The girl at the counter smiled at him, her eyes were bright and alert. She was moderately pretty, nothing stunning, but she was alright. Her smile faltered when David didn't return the smile. He kept on walking, headed toward the back rom where he knew Max was. He couldn't help but smirk at the girl's antics when he had his back to her and his face was no longer visible to her eyes.

He could see the door, and was only mildly surprised when it opened before he got there. Max stood in the doorframe, blocking it completely with his body.

"I was wondering when you would come." Max's voice was smooth and laid-back, but it ground against David's nerves, making the hair on the back of his neck stand on end.

Max smiled when David didn't respond, and moved aside to let him walk into the room.

"Marko found a girl." David turned and faced Max, the click of the door locking still reverberating in his ears.

Max just smiled. "Like Star?" He sounded like a proud father. David grimaced.

"Not like that." David replied coldly.

Max smiled, yet again. What David had meant was; "Never again." But he wouldn't ever admit he'd made a mistake.

"Do you intend to keep her?" Max asked. His voice was still light, but that didn't always mean he was happy.

"We're still working out some issues." David lied. His one rule was to always have an answer and he still didn't have one for that question. But, it wasn't a complete lie. Raya was related to the one person who he had trusted with his heart, and she was the one person who had ripped it out, almost literally, and left him to die. Things like that weren't easily forgiven.

"It took you long enough to tell me, didn't it David?" Max was looking at him intently.

David just sat there.

"She's been with you for a month, and you just now come and tell me." Max smiled. David looked slightly shocked, but hid it quickly, still saying nothing.

"I know what goes on in this city, David. Just because you tell me something doesn't mean that I wasn't already aware of it beforehand." Max was slipping back into that fatherly demeanor again. He was trying too hard again.

"I'll need a real anser. Two weeks, David. Then I'll need to know." Max stepped aside, unlocked the door and held it open for him. David walked out, smirking at him as he walked past.

David walked back toward the door that would deliver him into the night in his city. He smirked. Max had said that he knew what went on in the city, not his city. Because Max knew, it wasn't his to own.

"Good night," The girl behind the counter called, leaning on her elbows, her low cut top falling away from her body.

David smirked, raising an eyebrow at her. "It would seem that way."

She looked puzzled, but smiled none the less. David could feel her watching him as he left, he also felt the watchful gaze of the man who walked out of the back room after he did.

"Is that your son, Max?" The girl asked, turning to her employer.

"I would like to think he is, but it doesn't always work out that way."

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Dwayne, Marko, Laddie, and Raya were crammed into the booth. The seats were quite large, but the overwhelming amount of food on the table made everything seem tighter than it really was.

Dwayne was ever silent. Raya and Marko were talking, and Laddie was amusing himself with his french fries. He was trying to get them to stand up in the mountain of ketchup on his plate. Didn't seem to be working so well.

Dwayne knew that David had learned something. He knew it was important, too, but he didn't know what it was. He tried reaching out though their blood bond, but he only met a rough wall, the other vampire mentally shoving him away and barricading his thoughts into a corner. The refusal was half-expected, but it was a bit colder than it needed to be.

Laddie pulled on Dwayne's jacket sleeve, trying to get his attention. "Was that Paul?" Laddie was pointing out the window to where a police officer was shoving someone into what looked like a beaten up sedan with rotating lights on the roof.

"Well, either it's Paul, or he's got a twin we don't know about." Marko had gotten out of the booth and looked at the rest of them expectantly.

"Yeah, a twin that's jacked his clothes and hair spray." Raya said. Upon closer inspection, it was clearly Paul. You could tell by the wild mop sitting on top of his head.

"C'mon. We should probably help." Marko laughed, pulling Laddie out of the booth and swinging him up over his shoulder, Laddie giggling. He probably felt like he was on top of the world.

Marko refused to go inside the place, claiming he would see too many old friends if he did, grinning slyly all the time as he explained. As Laddie was still situated on his shoulders, it was up to Dwayne and Raya to rescue Paul.

"Come on, let's go see what he's gotten himself into." Raya slipped a hand into the crook of Dwayne's arm and walked with him into the police station. Vaguely, she thought she heard Marko mutter, "Or who." before she left.

"You've arrested my friend, I believe." Raya said to the officer at the desk that was positioned in front of the door.

He nodded, getting up and walking though one of the several doors that adorned the walls of the first room.

Another door opened on the right, and an officer led Paul through it. He smiled when he saw them.

"I haven't even gotten my phone call yet."

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"Damn police," Paul muttered, walking back out onto the boardwalk with Dwayne and Raya ten minutes later.

He was convinced that they raised the price of his bail because it was him, and that they purposefully made the handcuffs tight enough to rip into the skin on his wrists.

Raya gave him a fleeting glance and an amused smile before heading over to Marko and Laddie who were waiting at the other side of the boardwalk.

"Thought we told you to not get caught, Paul." Marko grinned at him, wondering what his brother had stolen or done this time.

"Not my fault," Paul said quietly.

Raya leaned forward and looked at his face closely. "Paul," she said slowly, "Are you wearing eyeliner?"

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"The chick had a thing for guys who showed their feminine side." Paul said, smirking at Marko and Dwayne.

"Did you find that out before of after you had her put eyeliner on you?" Dwayne asked, still amused tat the fact that Paul was indeed wearing eyeliner.

Paul mumbled incoherently.

"What was that? I didn't quite catch what you said." Marko asked, leaning his head in closer to Paul, keeping a careful watch on Raya and Laddie who were buying cotton candy.

"After," Paul grumbled.

"Well, it looks like you got yourself a keeper." Dwayne said, laughing to himself. "What's next, lipstick?"

"Fuck you." Paul said, flipping him off.

"He don't roll that way, man. But I could probably fix you up with someone if you're interested." Marko replied, sticking up for Dwayne. Damn, that line took forever.

Paul swiftly smacked him upside the head.

"Boys," The three of them turned to see David two feet away from them. He really does have a talent for sneaking up on people, then again, it came with the territory.

"Where's Raya?" He asked, noticing that she wasn't with them.

Dwayne pointed to the line she and Laddie were in. They were next.

"Don't leave her alone for the next two weeks." He commanded.

The danger she could potentially put herself in was endless. Now that Max had a deadline, she needed protecting. Max didn't always stick to his deadlines.

"Why?" Paul asked. He figured that kind of went without saying. None of them were planning on leaving her stranded.

"We have orders, a decision to make." David said, turning to watch Raya.

She could have been his. If her mother hadn't betrayed him, Raya might have been his. But Justine hadn't been like that. She had allowed herself to be manipulated, had allowed herself a guilty pleasure, had allowed herself to be weak. The fact that David had been a guilty pleasure to her disgusted him, as did the fact that he was so attracted to someone so helpless. If she had been someone else, there wouldn't be a problem. But Justine had betrayed him, was too afraid of the man who wanted power so badly, was so afraid to see what had been in front of her the entire time. True, she did have her heart in it with David, but feelings didn't matter. What mattered was what she did do: betray.

"How long?" Dwayne asked.

David looked like he was thinking, hard. He wasn't paying attention to what was going on around him. He was only concerned with how much Raya looked like her mother. He hadn't noticed it before. She had her mother's eyes.

"David, how long?" Dwayne asked, louder this time.

"Two weeks." He said.

Marko looked over at Raya, who was actually purchasing the cotton candy now. He had saved her once. He didn't know if she'd need him to do it again. He didn't know if he could do it again.

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**Sorry if there were mistakes. It's 2 30 right now, and I'm kind of tired. And like I said, not my favorite chapter, but let me know what you think of it. **

**Reviews make my day. Several reviews make my week. **


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